I never get tired of reading Luke 2 and learning from the angels and the shepherds. Here are five important lessons we learn from these men who were “keeping watch over their flock by night” when an angel of the Lord appeared with good news of great joy. The Savior had been born in Bethlehem! How did the shepherds respond?
They believed the Good News. We know this because as soon as the angels were gone the shepherds started making plans to go into Bethlehem. This is the critical time for all of us, isn’t it? We have just heard the doctor give us his diagnosis and tell us what to do to get well. Do we believe it? We have just heard our boss give us his evaluation of our work and tell us what to do to improve. Do we believe it? We have just heard the Lord speak to us in a sermon or in our own reading of the Word. Do we believe it? In each case, our “belief” is proved by what we do next. We can say we believe the word we’ve heard and simply ignore what we heard the word, which would be proof that we do not believe it. Belief and obedience walk together or not at all.
They obeyed the Good News. The shepherds said to one another, Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. What do we know about the shepherds’ obedience from this passage? First, their obedience was corporate, and that’s a great thing. The shepherds obeyed together. They exhorted one another to obey the Lord. If you are spending time with people who make a habit of obeying God, and encouraging you to obey God, you are hanging out with the right people. If you are spending time with friends or family who do not obey the Lord, but they know and they see that you do obey the Lord, then you are a friend of sinners as Jesus was. He was in the world, but not of the world. Second, their obedience was immediate. And they went with haste.” They hurried to obey God. There were lots of reasons to delay: as many sheep they had, those were each a reason to stay where they were. We are not told what they did with the sheep. Maybe the angels told them they could leave the sheep in the field and they would be fine. Maybe they found some substitute shepherds who were off that day and hired them to come and watch. Maybe they just looked at the sheep, looked at each other, and said, “Good luck Fluffies!” and took off to town. Probably not. They were shepherds, which meant they were first and foremost protectors of their sheep. But God had spoken to them through a heavenly host, an army of angels. And it was with great joy that they obeyed God with abandon! There is delight and surprise waiting for those who will make haste and obey God’s command.
Third, their obedience was grounded. They said, let’s go see this thing which the Lord has made known to us. How much do we run to see and to do and to walk in what the Lord has made known to us? Think of this. They were going into the city, where they almost never ventured, looking for a baby in a feeding trough. That took faith. But at the same time, God had revealed it to them. There are times to step out in faith, and certainly there was a measure of faith involved in what the Lord told the shepherds. But most of the time our obedience will not be to something we are not sure of, but to that which has been clearly revealed to us. The shepherds understood exactly what God was telling them to do, and they simply obeyed. Fourth, their obedience was rewarded. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. We don’t know how long it took them to find the right baby. Remember, the angel had said, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” The key word was manger. There were surely other babies in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling cloths, but the One they were looking for would be in a feeding trough. They looked until they found Him. This is one of those main things and plain things in the Bible. In Jeremiah we read, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart.” And in Isaiah, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.” Wisdom speaks in Proverbs, saying, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Jesus himself said, “Seek and you shall find.” That is what these lowly shepherds did.
I don’t know about you, but I want to follow the shepherds.
J. Mark Fox 